End of an Era -- Goodbye Evie

Time waits for no man...or woman...nor is it very forgiving while it's not waiting.  Evie had 95 good years, and then the last one.  Her passing, the day after Thanksgiving, was a blessing for her and her beleaguered family.  She had gotten to the point that no one could ease her suffering, even though we all tried.  Now she and Harry are together again (hey, Fuzz, we held on to her as long we could...you owe us).

Here is the formal obit:

Evelyn Fornwalt Copple, age 96, died in her sleep on November 25, 2011, under the care of Good Shepherd Hospice of Lakeland.  She was born and raised in Pennsylvania and moved to Lakeland in 1986 to be near her family. She is survived by her daughters, Jane Coyle of Lakeland and Jean Ross of Miami; seven grandchildren, Tim (Laura), Mike (Maranda), Pam (David), Michael (Lisa), Stephen, Brian and David (Sakhile); and 11⅓ great-grandchildren.  No service is scheduled, but donations can be made to Good Shepherd Hospice or Hope Hospice.

Obama Shoots Osama...

...or at least that's what one would think had happened by listening to the speech from the Great Satan. "I" did this, and "I" did that, gave the order, planned the plan, approved the op, blah, blah, blah.  I rather believe the insider blog that details how BHO not only couldn't pull the trigger, but was an obstacle to the launch of the mission.  Valerie Jarrett almost queered the deal, apparently.  Hooray for Leon Panetta who would not be denied (even a mild shout-out for Hillary C).

A friend sent me this:
Thanking Obama for killing Bin Laden is like going into McDonald's and thanking Ronald McDonald for the hamburger.

It's the guy cooking the burger that should get the credit, not the clown.

Whoever gave the word, the world is better off without that madman.  The angry lunatics may swarm, like whacking a hornets' nest, but I say fine, that'll bring them out in the open.  They want to be a hero and meet their barbaric idea of God, I say it's the least we can do to help them with that goal.
But the long-anticipated feeling of venegence--or is that Justice?--was not so overwhelming.  Maybe it has been too long, and the execution was an emotional afterthought.  I hope that this "show" doesn't help BHO (or TGS, as he should be known) get reelected.  Macho man, indeed! My ass.  If it does push him over the top, it will be the most expensive revenge we've ever gotten.

Another year passes....

It's been 6 years since Pappy left us, and it still leaves a hole. This pic is from one of our last family outings--to Olde Towne in Orlando (I think for my 50th birthday, actually)--and it exemplifies him in his element.  There's a sign at the bar behind him says that all firearms must be deposited with the proprietor--not this guy. Always the Rebel.  Grossi was in this shot, too, but I cut it--will put hers up in November.  It was ironic that I saw Murray Goff last night for the first time in 6 years, and only just thanked him properly (well, almost, but at least verbally) for the wonderful job he did at Pappy's service.  The universe has a sense of humor, thank God.  We will always miss you, Waldo!

Pappy's Birthday

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for today, not only because it was Pappy's birthday, but also because I spent so many of them with him on the mountains.

Pappy used to love to go skiing over his birthday so he could take all the guys out for dinner that night.  He called it the "Freddie Cates Memorial Dinner," so it was special in several ways.  His idea was that Freddie's gift to him of an interest in Venetia made so much money during the year that he had to try to spend it all that one evening.  And damn if he didn't try!  It got harder when the troupe got smaller, after Tom Oakley passed and Cookie stopped coming.  The best trip I remember was the last one we took, the one on which this picture was taken.  It was dinner at Aspen's famed Crystal Palace, a dinner theatre where the wait staff was also the entertainment, doing comedy skits and songs.  We all walked in and Waldo immediately waved to someone seated at a table as if he was a long lost friend--turns out they met on the airplane earlier in the week.  Next table over was a long time friend of his from Jacksonville...they finished chatting in time for us to run into my college classmate, Murray Goff, also from Jacksonville, coming down the stairs from the balcony.  Murray has never said to me in so many words, but I suspect Waldo had a bit to do with Murray's admission to Princeton.  Or maybe Murray just loved Waldo for who he was like so many other people did.  Murray: if I'm offbase on that admission thing, I apologize, no offense meant.  I'm sure my name was a help to get me in--the administration would have been nuts to pass up the chance to get another Richard L. Stockton up there--but I have no doubt Murray had to do it all on his own (or maybe with a kind word from Waldo in support).  I marvel at how easy it seemed to get into Princeton back then, as compared to how hard it is now. 

And so, another February 10th comes and goes, and I prepare yet again to head to the slopes, this time to New England.   Ah, the memories.... he would be happy.  Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Stupor Bowl 2011

I don't remember any of this, and it's the day after.  Oh, yeah, the Steelers lost. Or was it that that other team won?  Shit.

Weekend at the Beech

Ah, the best of intentions can be killer...or is that a killer?  The plan for the "weekend" trip to NC was to get the boys off to the slopes for a bit, and to become more familiar with the impending daughter-in-law.  A short visit to the Charlotte Casa was in the mix as well.  And we thought it would be cool for Winnie to see (and play in) some snow, since we obvious weren't going to get her out to Colorado in her present lifetime.  Thought sure the two parts of her genetic make-up would LOVE the snow...turns out, not so much.  Maybe if she had been younger, who knows--Sassy had a great time, but Winnie was pretty miserable.  Might have been the 49 steps from the house to the road that got to her (and to me, who shovelled most of them after the first snowfall).  The place was pretty much like all rental units in NC, very Timbers 6-ish, but with better decor. 

Jane and I got there the night before the kids, so we had a chance to scope it all out, and I got to ride all day Friday by myself, since B and S got held up in town (natch).  Beech Mountain is...how to say....small and mostly flat.  The "black" runs they had were actually one longer bluish run split into 2 (maybe 3) trails.  One good thing, it was the least crowded of all of them. And that was a big issue on Saturday when B and I  went out.  The slopes were so covered with participants, it falls into the "I wouldn't say your mother is fat, but..." school of hyperbole: I wouldn't say it was crowded, but at the base I couldn't fall down without hitting at least 2 people sitting on the snow. And that was the best result, because when they were upright, they were positively dangerous.  Really. 

There seemed to be some nice houses on the slopes at Beech, but location, location, location.  There's a reason that big houses on or near the slopes in the west command millions of dollars--that's were the good snow is.  Ah, well, another experience to remember.  B and I had as much fun as we could, and Shelley (who was injured) spent a good bit of time with Jane and learned to knit.  A good result all around.  Now to start planning the wedding!

Gators Take Lions "Out Back"

....and whup 'em up good.  A sloppy, even crappy, game, but not without its excitement.  What can you say about 6 INTs (5 for them), a blocked punt, a fumble into the endzone, and a pick-six to seal the game?  Pretty much that first thing I said.

Ah, Ahmad Black is the hero of the game, as he has been the hero of the season.  How fitting for an over-achiever who was "too small" and "too slow" to play safety to be the star on this under-achieving team.  A feel good story, for sure.  And he seems like a good kid as well, one we hope will get the big bucks at the next level.

Have you noticed how much ink Mike Pouncey gets in the various media services?  Is that because he talks better than he snaps, or just because he'll give an opinion on anything, anytime?  He has certainly become the "little brother" of the twins--hope he gets picked by the Steelers so the set can be reunited.  And Gruden sure loved him during the bowl game--raved about his skill as a blocker, etc, though he seemed to shut up a bit when that snap sailed over Reed's head.  Guess he'll be a great guard playing beside brother MP1.  (Who, BTW, is going to the Pro Bowl as a rookie! What?!?! A rookie, you say? From Pittsburgh?  Damn, that's unheard of .... at least within the last 50 years.  Big, huge, mega props to you, Maurkice.  You da man!)

But I digress....
It was so special that Urban's last victory was against a legend and his outmanned team, who managed to keep with striking distance until late.  It would have been unseemly to hang 50 points on the Lions with JoePa on the sidelines.  The irony is that one of Urban's role models growing up was Paterno, who, by the way, will still be coaching when Urban isn't--that is, NEXT YEAR! How times have changed....
Gators get a chance to try again next year with most of the same guys and a new coach, plus Driskel.  Go Gators!!!

Last Bumper Sticker of the Season:

Rap is to music as Etch-A-Sketch is to art.